|
Donald Trump on Welfare & Poverty
2000 Reform Primary Challenger for President
|
I don't like firing people; work makes people better
The American work ethic is what led generations of Americans to create our once prosperous nation.That's what I find so morally offensive about welfare dependency: it robs people of the chance to improve. Work gives every day a sense of purpose.
A job well done provides a sense of pride and accomplishment. I love to work. In fact, I like working so much that I seldom take vacations. Because I work so hard, I've been privileged to create jobs for tens of thousands of people.
And on my hit show "The Apprentice", I get to work with people from all works of life. I'm known for my famous line, "You're fired!" But the truth is, I don't like firing people. Sometimes you have to do it, but it's never fun or easy.
One of my favorite parts of business is seeing how work transforms people into better, more confident, more competent individuals. It's inspiring and beautiful to watch.
Source: Time to Get Tough, by Donald Trump, p.107
, Dec 5, 2011
Food stamps should be temporary; not a decade on the dole
The food stamp program was originally created as temporary assistance for families with momentary times of need. And it shouldn't be needed often. Thankfully, 96 percent of America's poor parents say their children never suffer even a day of hunger.
But when half of food stamp recipients have been on the dole for nearly a decade, something is clearly wrong, and some of it has to do with fraud.
The really infuriating thing is that the Obama administration doesn't seem to care about how taxpayers are being shaken down by this outrageously mismanaged government program.
The blatant waste of taxpayers' dollars doesn't bother
Obama, because it's all part of his broader nanny-state agenda. Perhaps that's why his administration doesn't give a rip about policing fraud or administering responsible oversight-he's buying votes.
Source: Time to Get Tough, by Donald Trump, p.113-114
, Dec 5, 2011
Apply welfare-to-work to 76 other welfare programs
The secret to the 1996 Welfare Reform Act's success was that it tied welfare to work. To get your check, you had to prove that you were enrolled in job-training or trying to find work. But here's the rub: the 1996 Welfare Reform Act only dealt with one
program, Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), not the other seventy-six welfare programs which, today, cost taxpayers more than $900 billion annually. We need to take a page from the 1996 reform and do the same for other welfare programs.
Benefits should have strings attached to them. After all, if it's our money recipients are getting, we the people should have a say in how it's spent.The way forward is to do what we did with AFDC and attach welfare benefits to work.
The Welfare Reform Act of 2011--proposed by Republican Congressman Jim Jordan of Ohio, Tim Scott of South Carolina, and Scott Garrett of New Jersey--does just that.
Source: Time to Get Tough, by Donald Trump, p.116
, Dec 5, 2011
Let “saints” help teen moms; restrict public assistance
Can restraint be taught? Teenage mothers [shouldn’t] get public assistance unless they jump through some pretty small hoops. Making them live in group homes makes sense. A lot of these girls didn’t have fathers or full-time parents.
But there are people-I think we can call them saints-who dedicate their lives to helping kids like this. Whoever they are, and whether they work out of a church, a temple, or some kind of public facility, they deserve all our support.
Source: The America We Deserve, by Donald Trump, p.107-8
, Jul 2, 2000
Page last updated: May 31, 2012